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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29082591">Galatea</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynterelle/pseuds/wynterelle'>wynterelle</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Code:Realize ～創世の姫君～ | Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth (Visual Novel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angry Sex, Begging, Edging, Established Relationship, F/M, Light Bondage, Relationship Dynamics Navigation, Sorting Out Feelings Through Sex, Woman on Top</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:01:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,801</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29082591</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynterelle/pseuds/wynterelle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mid-way through Future Blessings, Cardia and Lupin work through a not quite resolved tension in their relationship. Mild spoilers for Lupin's Future Blessings route.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cardia Beckford/Arsène Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Galatea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It felt like the point of tension in Lupin's Future Blessings route was resolved a touch too easily, so...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lupin kissed her with a fervour that left Cardia weak-kneed and furious.</p>
<p>Weak-kneed because she was entirely at the mercy of his kiss, all-consumed with the feeling of his lips on hers.</p>
<p>Furious because just hours earlier she’d expressed her discomfort with how he always managed to overwhelm her while remaining forever composed and in control, and it had made no difference whatsoever.</p>
<p>Dramatically backlit by the sun setting over the harbour, Lupin had set his silver tongue to work with the words and reassurances she’d needed to hear. He’d said all the right things, been so sincere, and yet here he was again kissing her until her legs felt like jelly as he pressed her down on her bed beneath him.</p>
<p>For all his talk of how he was just as taken with her as she was with him, it was utterly unfair that he had her at such a disadvantage yet again; on her back as he buried his hands in her hair, gently angling her head just right so he could kiss her until she all but swooned.</p>
<p>His thief’s fingers knew just how to trail lightly along her skin, leaving heat and sparks in their wake as he coaxed whimpers from her lips. As one of his hands found its way between her legs, she was so distracted by his touch she barely registered that he’d at some point divested himself of his sleepwear. And yet, for all the fire and shivers he was provoking in her, he was still wholly, impossibly collected.</p>
<p>Frustration bubbling up, Cardia pushed at him weakly, almost relenting to the skillful brush of his fingers against her. Finally, as he slid her nightdress upwards and settled between her thighs, she found the strength she needed to shove him away.</p>
<p>Sitting back on his knees, Lupin’s dashing grin wavered only slightly.</p>
<p>“Would you prefer something else, <em>ma chérie</em>?” he asked, obliging as always. “I am yours to command.”</p>
<p>His expression was one of undeniable charm, and Cardia seethed as her treasonous stomach took flight in butterflies.</p>
<p>“I would like something else, yes,” she said, clamping down on the flutters that threatened to overturn her resolve.</p>
<p>But what exactly? All of her efforts to turn the tables on him had failed thus far. Cardia chewed at her lip as she considered her distractingly handsome and naked husband.</p>
<p>“Princess?” Lupin asked, eyebrows drawing together in slight confusion. “I am at your service.”</p>
<p>Of course he was. He always was. And once she gave any indication of what she wanted he would no doubt have her in the palm of his skillful hands yet again. Even while in the throes of passion, Lupin was just as in control of the situation as he was outside the bedroom. It seemed almost inevitable that she’d end up losing herself entirely to the expert play of his fingers and body as she lay back against the pillows, swept away with sensations she was powerless to resist, while his roguish grin and honeyed words remained ever-present.</p>
<p>That would not do. That would not do at all.</p>
<p>She needed some way to turn the situation to her advantage. Some way to reverse their positions. To for once have him on his back, just as overwhelmed and helpless as he made her feel…</p>
<p>Could it perhaps be so simple as that?</p>
<p>Stripping off her nightgown before her confidence deserted her, Cardia grasped Lupin’s shoulders and maneuvered him down onto the bed.</p>
<p>Lupin’s grin faltered, his eyes going wide as she pushed him down against the pillows and climbed on top of him.</p>
<p>“This is, uh-” He cleared his throat and smoothly regained his composure. “It feels rather ungallant of me to inconvenience a lady in such a manner.”</p>
<p>Cardia smiled down at him. The view while sitting astride him was really quite novel and enticing.</p>
<p>“It’s no inconvenience,” she reassured him. “I want to try it this way.”</p>
<p>He raised an eyebrow, his confident, mischievous grin returning as his hands settled on her thighs. “<em>Comme tu veux.</em>”</p>
<p>Taking a moment to carefully align her hips, Cardia’s eyes fell closed as she lowered herself onto him. Lupin made a soft groan as they joined, but by the time Cardia opened her eyes again he was simply looking up at her, charming smile fixed firmly in place.</p>
<p>The position was certainly different from what she was used to. Moving her hips tentatively at first, it took her a few tries to fall into a rhythm that felt right. But just as she found her pace, Lupin slid a hand between them, touching her in a way she was helpless to resist.</p>
<p>Cardia gasped and sank down on him again, unable to hold back a moan. A jolt of pleasure curled hot and fierce through her, mixing with a sudden twinge of anger. At him. At his clever fingers. At the irresistibly handsome grin he flashed at her as he had the situation perfectly in control even while flat on his back beneath her. His maddening fingers continued their work, and it was instantly apparent that while she had reversed their positions in one way, she hadn’t at all in another.</p>
<p>Gritting her teeth, Cardia drew herself away, indignation coursing through her. Ignoring Lupin’s questioning look, she grabbed one of his neckties from the nightstand, running it through her hands to test the strength of the fabric. Satisfied, she turned back to him, pulled his arms up over his head, and set to work.</p>
<p>“Cardia?” he asked, confusion clear across his face. “What are you- Oh.”</p>
<p>Pulling the last knot tight, Cardia sank back on her knees and admired her handiwork. The necktie looped through the ornately carved headboard, securing her husband’s wrists and his too-skilled hands firmly out of reach.</p>
<p>Lupin furrowed his brow and tugged at the restraints, but the knots held. When he glanced back at her again, he couldn’t quite rid the uncertainty from his features. “Is everything alright, my treasure?”</p>
<p>“Perfectly alright,” she confirmed, settling back over his hips.</p>
<p>“This is-” He swallowed audibly as she lowered herself onto him yet again. “This is new.”</p>
<p>Ignoring him, Cardia focused on her movements, finding the rhythm he’d interrupted before. She angled her hips experimentally, until finally she found just the right motion that made her see stars.</p>
<p>“Oh!” she cried out, her eyes going wide. “Oh that’s good!”</p>
<p>“<em>Mon dieu</em>,” Lupin whispered, but Cardia paid him no mind.</p>
<p>She trailed a hand down until it came to rest between her legs and touched herself as he had done to her so many times before. Her own fingers were nowhere near the level of his expert touch, but as she stroked in time with the movement of her hips it was just right all the same.</p>
<p>She closed her eyes, focused on the feelings her attentions were producing, and rode him until her thighs shook and her muscles tensed. Lupin made a low groan, but Cardia barely heard him as she cried out, grinding down hard and riding out the sensations as she reached her peak.</p>
<p>When she opened her eyes again at last, Lupin was breathing hard, his pale skin flushed red from his face down to his chest as his bound hands clenched tight on the headboard. His hips strained beneath hers, eager to reach his own release as well. With his amber eyes dark, a sheen of sweat across his skin, it was painfully obvious he was very, very close.</p>
<p>Still enjoying the feeling of being filled, Cardia rocked her hips slowly, just enough to draw out the last fleeting tremors that ran through her, but not enough for what Lupin needed. Riding high from what she’d just experienced, Cardia felt wonderful, clear-headed, and absolutely victorious to have her gentleman thief for once visibly undone. It was a sight so long desired, she couldn’t help but crave more.</p>
<p>Cardia smoothed her hands over her husband’s chest and <em>smiled</em>.</p>
<p>“I could take a turn on top,” he offered, his tone too desperate to be altruistic. “You must be tired after that.”</p>
<p>“Not at all. To be quite honest, I feel like I could do this all night.”</p>
<p>She drew herself up, then back down over him, increasing her pace ever so slightly each time in demonstration of how easy it was for her.</p>
<p>“Oh god,” Lupin said faintly, his hips starting to tremble beneath her.</p>
<p>“If it’s too much for you though, I could stop?” She slowed her movements until she came to a halt and a look of panic flashed across his face.</p>
<p>“What? No! Why?” He pressed himself up against her, but Cardia held resolutely still, keeping his hips in place with hers. Taking a breath, Lupin schooled his features into the barest semblance of calm. “What I mean to say, of course, is that it’s not too much at all. Seeing you like this is a gift beyond compare. <em>Please</em> continue.”</p>
<p>His words were charming as always, but his knuckles were a telltale white as he gripped the headboard much too tight.</p>
<p>Slowly brushing back her hair that had tumbled over her shoulders, Cardia took her time before moving again. When she hit her stride, Lupin’s throat bobbed as he swallowed down a sound of pleasure, and then on his next breath failed completely to reign in a low moan. He bit his lip, all his muscles taut, his hips rolling in time with hers. With his hands still fixed above his head, his hair falling into his face, he was by far the most undone mess that Cardia had ever seen.</p>
<p>So of course, it was the perfect time for her to stop and make an exaggerated show of rubbing the muscles of her thighs.</p>
<p>Lupin closed his eyes and groaned in frustration. “<em>T'es sérieuse, toi?</em>” he whispered through clenched teeth.</p>
<p>Cardia grinned in her best imitation of Lupin’s own roguish smile. “I’m enjoying this very much. Aren’t you?”</p>
<p>His eyes went wide as understanding dawned at last, shock and betrayal clear across his features.</p>
<p>“You’re doing this on purpose.“</p>
<p>Then he did something Cardia had never seen him do.</p>
<p>Jaw clenched, amber eyes narrowed, he <em>glared</em> at her.</p>
<p>"Cardia,” he said, his voice low, “what’s got into you tonight?”</p>
<p>She didn’t flinch as she met his gaze and dropped her smile. “It’s not so easy to be the one swept away, is it?”</p>
<p>He groaned, tipping his head back against the pillows. “Is that what this is about? We sorted that all out earlier!”</p>
<p>“We did!” she said, louder than she’d intended. “We did, and then we came home and you kissed me like you always do and I just… I just couldn’t stand it!”</p>
<p>They glared at each other for an instant, but at that one small admission Cardia found herself unable to stem an outpouring of words and feelings so long contained.</p>
<p>“You rescued me from an eternity as a doll left abandoned on the shelf, taught me all I needed to survive and <em>live</em> in this world, and now you make me feel like… like I’m some puppet dancing in your hand!” She jabbed an accusing finger against his chest, his pale skin still flushed. “Ever since we met you’ve held all the cards, and even now in our relationship you always take the lead. You kiss me until I’m undone so completely, while you’re so perfect and controlled. Just once I want to make you feel like I do. Just once I want to know that you’re just as lost in me as I am in you. Otherwise it’s not fair!”</p>
<p>Having said her piece, she took a shaky breath to calm her swell of emotions, all twisted up and painfully human, and then slowly began to move on top of him again.</p>
<p>Lupin was silent for a moment, even as his breath came too loud and too quick. When he spoke again his voice was rough and unexpectedly quiet.</p>
<p>"Not fair? <em>Quelle bêtise.</em>” His grip on the headboard tightened, the fabric of the necktie still wrapped around his wrists. “What’s not fair is what you do to me.”</p>
<p>Cardia frowned, but kept her rhythm steady as she waited for him to continue.</p>
<p>“You drive me absolutely mad,” he said, his expression serious, all of his usual theatrics stripped away. “Is that what you want to hear? You must know it’s true. And yes, I always take control of the situation, because I thought you liked that, and because if I didn’t <em>you’d know how weak I am to you</em>.”</p>
<p>He spoke with such honesty and conviction that Cardia felt her face grow hot. His usual affected tone was gone and he held her gaze unwaveringly.</p>
<p>“You’re so beautiful, just looking at you drives me to distraction. I have all the words for any situation, but when I look at you and think of how incredible you are I feel entirely lost. How can I even begin to describe you?”</p>
<p>Heat building in her again, his adoring words drove Cardia to increase her pace, her hips moving atop his with growing abandon.</p>
<p>“Even now I’m doing you a disservice because, yes, you look like an absolute goddess riding me like this - <em>nom de dieu</em> - but what I’m most in awe of is <em>you</em>. All that you’ve learned and overcome as you carved out your place in this world - how can anyone measure up to that?”</p>
<p>She whimpered at this, fighting to keep her eyes fixed on his, even as her legs trembled and her breath came quick. Lupin swallowed hard, struggling to continue his words.</p>
<p>“And somehow I managed to steal your good sense away long enough for you to agree to marry me and it’s all I can do to make sure you never realize you’ve bound yourself to some jumped-up cutpurse from the gutter.”</p>
<p>Cardia gasped, as much to glimpse the insecurities that lay beneath his trademark confidence as from her own mounting sensations. Lupin made a noise deep in his throat, his eyes falling closed for a moment before meeting her gaze again.</p>
<p>“Is that what you want to hear?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “Because it’s true. It’s true and oh <em>fuck</em> I’m close please don’t stop this time.”</p>
<p>His words tumbled out, increasingly frantic, his hips pushing up to meet hers. Watching him come apart beneath her had her unravelling as well, her whole body burning up and needing more.</p>
<p>“If you slow down again, Cardia, I will quite honestly lose my goddamned mind. So please, if you love me at all, <em>please don’t stop</em>.”</p>
<p>She didn’t want to stop any more than he did, but any reassurance she could give was washed away with her moans. His hands grasped the headboard, twisting against his bonds, all his muscles tense and straining.</p>
<p>“Oh- Oh god, Cardia, <em>please</em> let me come, I’m so close, I’m-”</p>
<p>His voice broke off with a cry, his eyes falling closed, his hips pushing up wildly against hers, and that was all she saw before her own intensity peaked and they were both equally lost together.</p>
<p>When she came back to her senses, Cardia opened her eyes to the sight of Lupin watching her, his expression more vulnerable than she’d ever seen.</p>
<p>“<em>Ma chérie</em>, I-” he started softly, and then reached up to caress her face, the restraints around his wrists falling away. “I love you.”</p>
<p>Cardia leaned into his touch for only a moment before pulling away, her eyes narrowing at the necktie that hung loosely from the carved wood of the headboard.</p>
<p>“How did you-” she began, but reformulated her question as she remembered just who she was speaking to. “How long have you been free?”</p>
<p>He made no response, but his apologetic smile told her all she needed to know. Cardia huffed.</p>
<p>“Next time I'll… well, I’ll blindfold you as well and let’s just see you get your hands free then!” He carefully avoided her gaze, and Cardia gave a resigned sigh. “That wouldn’t stop you one bit, would it?”</p>
<p>“Not at all,” he admitted slowly. “Although I find myself surprisingly not averse to being the recipient of your affections while in such a position.”</p>
<p>He frowned, his eyebrows drawing together as he mulled over this realization. Cardia tilted her head and considered her husband in turn, his dark hair tousled, lithe body languid and pliant against the pillows, his face and chest still mottled with the remnants of the scarlet flush that had adorned his skin as she’d had her way with him.</p>
<p>Leaning down to brush a kiss against his lips, Cardia found that she was, in fact, also quite receptive to the thought of having the great thief Arsène Lupin bound and blindfolded in her bed.</p>
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